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Safeguarding Policy and form

Introduction

The Alliance Française de Manchester acknowledges its duty of care to children. We take steps to ensure the welfare of children through a safeguarding policy and procedures which are mandatory for everyone in the Alliance Française de Manchester, both staff and volunteers.

The form below, acknowledging and agreeing to the procedures, must be signed by a parent/guardian of every student under the age of 18, before their first class.

A paper copy of the form is available for collection at reception.

Our Safeguarding Lead is Myriam Joly, who can be contacted at courses@afmanchester.org.

Classes at our premises

Students under 11

• All students under 11 must be accompanied by an adult on arrival and departure. The adult should bring the child into the classroom and sign in and out with the teacher.

• The parent/guardian may consent to the child being picked up by another adult by using the form below (if this will be a regular arrangement), or by sending an email from the address on our system to reception@afmanchester.org.
• If for any reason there may be a delay in collecting a child at the end of the class, please let us know. We can only provide supervision for children during and shortly after class times. 
• Children under 11 must be supervised in the library/reception area.

Students 11 and over

• Parents may provide consent for students aged 11 and over to arrive and leave by themselves by completing the form below. 
• We will ask students under 18 who are authorised to arrive and leave by themselves to sign in and out at reception. 
• If a student who is authorised to arrive and leave by themselves does not come to class, after 15 minutes we will notify the parent/guardian that they have not arrived. 
• Please let us know in advance about any illness or planned absence. Please let us know if you wish to authorise your child to leave early from a class.

All children, general information about our premises:

• Where there is a break in the middle of a class, we advise that students under the age of 18 remain on the premises and cannot accept any responsibility for any incident which occurs if the student exits the AF de Manchester premises. 
• Where a child is under the age of 11 or does not have parental consent to arrive/leave alone, we will not permit them to leave the premises during a break. 
• There are separate male and female toilets. Please note that children may go to the toilets unaccompanied whilst on the premises and staff are not able to supervise them during this time. As we offer adult courses, adults may be present in the bathroom at the same time as children. 
• Please use the form below to let us know about any allergies, medical information, or additional information we should know about your child. We cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment, although we will do our best to take any allergies into consideration.

Online classes

• To provide an interactive class experience, we expect all students to have their camera and microphone turned on throughout the class. 
• The students should be seated in a quiet environment, free from distractions. 
• Students should be aware that although they may be at home, they must behave in a manner similar to what would be expected at school, with appropriate dress, behaviour, language and respect for teachers and classmates. They should put away their telephones for the duration of the class. 
• Teachers will record attendance and directly supervise students as long as they remain in the online classroom. 
• Some of the class activities may take place in "breakout rooms" where the students may not be under the direct supervision of a teacher. 
• In group classes, any concerns about the behaviour of other students should be reported to the teacher or to Myriam Joly at courses@afmanchester.org
• Online classes are conducted using Zoom and/or Microsoft Teams (your teacher will confirm the software in use for your class).
• Children should be aware that they are appearing in public and parents should ensure that their background is reasonably neutral. They should avoid attending class from their bedroom. 
• Children should observe basic internet safety guidelines: they should not share personal information such as their address, phone number or social media profile information with people they do not know. 
• Recording of a class or part of a class is strictly forbidden. The "record" function will always be disabled. 
• We recommend that parents use their own contact details and not the child's when downloading Zoom/Teams. 
• Children can write their first name only when entering the classroom but must use their real name so that the teacher can identify them. 
• The classroom link which is sent to you by email is personal and should never be shared. 

Online communications - all classes:

• The teacher will by default use the parent/guardian's email address for all communications. If you would prefer, we will use the child's email address, but we will always put a parent/guardian in copy, and you should ensure that your child always copies you in on any communication with us. 
• Our policy is to forbid all communication on any social network between students under the age of 18 and staff members.

Special provisions for 1-to-1 classes:

• For both online and onsite classes, where a child does not attend their class, we will attempt to call the parent/guardian after 15 minutes, and follow this up with an email. 
• If a teacher and child agree to reschedule their class to a time different to the regular slot, reception will send an email confirming the new time to the parent/guardian. 

Library and Cultural Activities:

• All students enrolled on courses at the Alliance Française de Manchester are entitled to a year's free library membership. 
• We ask parents/guardians to countersign library membership applications for students under the age of 16 and to supervise their use of resources. 
• It is the policy of the Alliance Française to adhere to age guidance for films, where this is indicated or available. Parents should be aware that the sytem of certification for films is not the same in French-speaking countries and should assess suitability for their children before allowing them to view a film. Where possible, we have indicated suitability in our online catalogue. Please feel free to discuss with a member of staff. 
• Where a UK certification has been obtained for a film, age certificates for films shown at our Ciné-clubs are available on our website and advertising materials. Otherwise, we advise parents to research suitability before a child attends a film screening. 
• Graphic novels in our collection have been informally classified according to age suitability by a member of our staff, and we will ask for parental consent before loaning any items we consider to be unsuitable for children.